Combination hanger and track for edgewise-movable doors.



No. 856,607. PATENTED JUNE 11, 1907. D. SGHUYLER & H. LAUGHLIN, J11. COMBINATION HANGER AND TRACK FOR EDGEWISE MOVABLE DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21, 1904.

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No. 856,607. PATENTED JUNE 11, 1907. D. SOHUYLER & H. LAUGHLIN, JB.

GOMBINATION HANGER AND TRACK FOR EDGEWISE MOVABLE DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21,1904.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

Fig. 3 F5 4 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

DANIEL SCIIUYLER, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, AND HOMER LAUGI-I- LIN, JR., OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNORS TO THE PERFECT SLIDING DOOR COMPANY, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORA- TION OF CALIFORNIA.

COMBINATION HANGER AND TRACK FOR EDGEWlSE-MOVABLE DOORS.

N 0. 856,607. Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 11, 1907.

Application filed June 21,1904. Serial No- 213,508.

To whom it y 001L067? a grooved wheel, of a sheet-metallrail having B}? 1 kI WIl th DANIEL HU on opposite sides parallel bearing surfaces a c1t1zen of the United States, res dlng at on which the grooved wheel runs, the prin- Brldgeport; 1n the y, of Fall'fleld and ciple being that thereby it is made possible State of Connecticut, and HOMER LAUGIILIN, t l t t id f id h l a l n- JIX, a citiz n 0f the United a e d g ished rail which will not set upia noise vibraat Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles ti n,

and State of California, have invented a new (13) An object is to avoid noise and yet and useful OOmbiIlatiOn Hanger and Track use a steel rail without using any fiber, wood 10 for Edgewise-Moving Closures, of which the oth r sound deadening material.

following is a specification. (let) Anotherobject is to provide improved This inVe tiO is more parti ularly app means whereby the trolley is proof a ainst Cable to Closures OOH'IIHOIlly kIIOWII as sliding accidental displacement from the rail, I ut is doors a d Wi dOWsreadily removable from the rail at any point I 5 some of the OhJGCtS 0f thls 1I1V6I1t101l m y therealong without manipulation of screws, be enumerated its fOHOWSi t0 PTOVlde nuts or other extraneous means of fastening. for constructing a sliding door set with mini- (15) A th obj ct of the invention in mum weight of metal and maximum strength its preferred form is to allow a liberal adjustand g y, to avoid torsional Strain, ment of both ends of a single sliding door 20 t0 SBCUIB simplicity and ohoopnoss of without removing any door stops or any parts manufacture, I) noiselessness, (5) superior f th d r, attachment to the door, (6) easy mounting (16) A th bj t i t id suand dismounting of the door, (7 simplicity, perior construction of hanger for sus )ending 7 5 convenience and permanency of adjustment, the door at its center by means wlnch will 2 5 r y mounting and dismoullting 0f the run in a narrow slot so that the opening above (1001' from its pp p v and more the door may be as inconspicuous as possible convenient means for preventing any disith t a y onoealingmeans. placement of the hanger on the rail, and, (10) (17) Another object secured by the preto provide maX lIluIll stability 0f PP ferred form of the invention is to provide for 0 with minimum friction, (11) to provi i the adjustment of a rail under tension withsheet metal carriage having hard antifriction t di t rbing u h tension. faces and a tough supporting portion. (18) To provide for so supporting the door All Object Of this invention is to P that the sound vibration of the moving arts 8 5 vide for sliding door mechanism, the most will not be transmitted to the door; and yet 3 5 perfect and the cheapest possible antifli i to obtain a connection which is sufficiently construction, at the same t me avoidmg ri id f r satisfactory operation.

noise. This we accomplish in part y pr (19) Another object is case of assembling viding mechanism comprising a sheet-metal the parts. o

rail having on opposite sides parallel faces (20) Another object is to cause the action 0 on which the door carriage runs; and more f gravity to tighten the parts.

fully by providing a sheet-metal surface In carrying out this invention we propose which runs on said rail. to reduce vibration and resonance to a mini- In carrying out this invention in its most mum and this is accomplished by bringing approved form all of the antil'riction surfaces into one combination various elements and 5 except the bearing balls are formed of sheetfeatures hereinafter set forth, whereby the metal and are planished, but we do not limit initial vibrations are suppressed, and their our invention to the use of the sheet-metal transmission and augmentation are largely rollers and rail for the reason that other feaprevented. IOO tures of our invention maybe used with other It may here be remarked that the body of 50 forms or rail and roller, with satisfactory a sliding door and the frame work and parresults. WVe regard our invention, however, tially inclosed air I spaces pertaining to a as including broadly the combination with sliding door form an acoustic instrument by of any vibrations which may b Set P- which slight vibrations are caused to-resound, and the object more particularly in view in the present invention is to avoid the noise commonly attendant upon the operation of sliding doors.

An idea of means which largely enters into this combination consists in the application of a wedging action for suppressing rattling between contacting surfaces. It is a feature of our invention to provide door mechanism embodying this wedging principle throughout for the purpose stated. We thereby provide and use a tense sheet-metal rail and a tense sheet-metal connection between the roller and the door closure, thereby securing great rigidity and freedom from vibration with slight weight.

The accompanying drawings illustrate our invention.

Figure 1. is a fragmental view illustrating our invention. Fig. 2. is an enlarged fragmental detail of the same. Fig. 3. is a fragmental elevation in mid-section along the rail and door. Fig. 4. is a cross section on line IV.IV. Fig. 3. Fig. 5. is a fragmental view of the underside of the door support and the rail. Fig. 6. is a side elevation of the adjustment cap. Fig. 7. is an elevation looking left from line VIIVII, Fig. 3.

In this view the cantaliver arm 5 is shown wedged home to slightly spread apart the of the rail.

1 is the body of a door or other edgewise movable closure, 2 a rail, 3 supports therefor fastened to uprights 4 of the building.

5 designates portions of the supports wedged in between the side walls 6 of the rail 2, which rail is preferably an open angular shaped sheet metal trough, the side walls 6 of which extend alongside each other and are brought under tension by the wedging action of the arms 5 which wedge between said side walls, thus slightly spreading them apart and causing a tight fit between side walls of shoulders 7 which are substantially conformed to the outside of the end of the rail to prevent rattling of the rail.

7 designates shoulders above the bases 51 of the arms and under and within which shoulders the ends of the rail will be inserted in mounting the rail on its supports.

In order to provide a practically noiseless edge-wise moving door we have produced a combination of parts by which we largely avoid setting up initial vibrations and largely prevent the transmission and increase With this purpose in view a portion of the door support consists in a pair of externally groove rollers or wheels 8, one for each upper corner of the door and each contacting tween the washer and nut.

with the rail, practically at two points only, at any one time, as will hereinafter more fully appear. For this purpose the outer faces!) of the side walls 6 of the rail diverge downwardly more rapidly than the inner faces 10 of the grooved rollers, so that the only contact between the rollers and the rail is at two points on opposite sides of the rail somewhere below the top thereof, the wheel being free from contact with the rail in the mid dle space between said inside faces of the groove. Each rail is desirably made of cold rolled sheet steel having a planished surface upon which the-rollers roll. Preferably the roller 8 is likewise formed of sheet metal having planished surfaces at 10 to roll upon the planished faces of the rail.

11 designates wedge shape sheet metal members, two carried by each roller 9 and extending downward alongside each other on opposite sides of the roller and widening downwardly and terminating in inwardly and upwardly bent portions 12, and interlocking with, wedging into and supporting the vibration, absorbing and sound deadening plate or bridge 13 which is preferably provided with shoulders 14 between which the members 11 tightly wedge. 15 is a screw-threaded bolt carried by the bridge and extending through a vertical hole16 in the body of the door 1 and serving as a suspender therefor. 17 is a nut on said bolt having a rough, irregular and corrugated edge 18. A curved sheet metal washer 19 is mounted on the bolt between the nut and the supporting face 20 of the door body 1 and is adapted and arranged to engage the body of the nut at the edges there of to prevent the same from turning on the bolt so long as the weight of the door is on i the washer.

21 is a lateral hole forming a chamber and opening in the body 1. communicating with and having a greater diameter than hole 16, and through which access to the nut 17 may be gained by means of any instrument whereby the nut may be turned in case the body 1 is raised so as to relieve the engagement be- The washer is held stationary relative to the body by suitable means such as the walls of the chamber or opening 2]. in the door in which the nut and washer are located. Preferably said chamber is circular and the washer 19 is bridge 13 are tapered, so that they can be j readily inserted between the arms 5 to spread them apart in the act of assembling the device.

It is desirable that the support for the rail shoulders 7 of the brackets 26.

by which it is sustained at the end of the rail.

25 is a lag screw for holding the upper end of the bracket 26 in place. Said bracket 26 is adjustable vertically by means of a collar screw 27, the neck of which fits a slot 28 in a ledge 29 at the lower end of the bracket plate, 22. Said screw screws into the bracket 26 so that by turning the screw the bracket 26' will be raised or lowered as the case may be;

the bracket 26 being furnished with a slot 30 for the lag screw 25 permits this to be done. The rail is cramped by its brackets and held under a longitudinal tension by reason of its resting on the points of the arms 5 with the extreme ends of the rail bent down under the It is appar ent that when thus held the rear end of the rail is practically fixed and that adjustment may be made by turning the collar screw 27 at the front end without turning the collar screw 27 at the rear end of the rail.

In practice, each moving support or hanger comprising the roller and its connections will move freely along the rail with but little tendency to set up any vibration in the rail, the hanger or the door; and the several devices, as the plate 13, the bolt 15, and the Washer 19, serve as vibration intercepters to suppress the vibration and prevent its trans mission to the door, thus rendering the movement of the door substantially noiseless.

The washer 19 is desirably crowned being formed'in an arc to lit the circular wall or the hole 16. The chord of such are is somewhat greater than the diameter of the corrugated nut, and such nut, wedges thereinto under pressure of the door thereby preventing looseness at that point.

In the form at present deemed best, the trolley or hanger running on the rail surrounds the rail at top, bottom and sides and the Suspender is centrally arranged below the hanger and is carried thereby thus ailording a true and stable support and suppressing vibration. The body is held from turning by means of two suspenders 15 as shown in Fig. 1, the threaded parts of which extend down through the holes 16 in the supporting part of the door body and through the washers which wedge on and prevent the nuts from turning when the supporting part is borne by the washer on the nut. By this construction the door is caused to run true and noiselessly and without any danger of getting out of adjustment. The sheet metal rail and sheet metal rollers have planished faces so as to avoid setting up vibrations. The body of the door is adjustably connected with the bridge or plate so as to allow easy access to the adjusting devices and to allow a construction in which the vibrations are suppressed and largely avoided. The bridge plate being detachable and arranged intermediate the door body and the supporting means carried directly by the roller, provides at once for ready attachment of the door and for muffling and deadening noise.

331 is a finishing cap for the mouth oi the lateral hole 21. It has an opening 32 through which a wire, a screwdriver or other instrument may be inserted to engage the notched or corrugated nut to turn the same for adjusting the height of the body 1. In practice the body 1.. must be lifted to free the nut from the nut locking washer 19 before the nut can be turned. By means of the construction shown, the height ol the door can be readily and conveniently adjusted.

By providing the vertically adjustable cantaliver shown at the end of the rail and in contact therewith at two points together with, means for adjusting the same vertically and means for eauting the support, a tension may be brought on the rail to the extent of bowing the same in the middle, each of the corresponding supports at the two ends of the rail serve to hold the rail in tension, the one acting against the other, thus avoiding looseness and vibration; and the vertical position of the rail may be changed without appreciably loosening the tension.

It will be seen from Figs. l and 5 that the trolley cannot be accidentally displaced from the rail while the door is suspended thereby, but by prying the side members 11 outward, the plate 13 may be released and the door removed without manipulation o'l screws, nuts or the like.

By providing a trough shaped sheet metal rail held under the tension and a roller running on said rail and sheet metal arms held under tension and carried by said roller, it is possible to bring the supporting means of the edgewise moving body into a narrow space, and to construct said supporting means with minimum weight of material for a given strength, rigidity and freedom from noise.

It is to be understood that we do not limitour invention to the use in every instance oi all the features of the same; for good-results are obtainable by the use of parts of the invention, other parts being omitted, for in stance an advantage is gained by the use of a trough shaped metal rail, a door, a roller running on said rail, a connection between said roller and the door, and means for remlering said connection. tense, regardless of whether the connection referred to is attached directly to the door or to an intermediate part.

It will also be understood that advantages over former constructions are secured by the combination of the rail, the roller on said rail, arms carried by said roller and extending downward therefrom, a bridge below the rail and detachably interlocked with said arms and the body connected with said bridge regardless of how the body is connected, although it is to be understood that the best results are secured by the construction in which the body is connected with the arms by the means shown in the drawings. I

It is evident that when one end of the rail is appropriately adjusted, that by operating the means for canting the support at the other end to cramp the rail between the two points of support at its opposite ends, the tension of the rail may be increased.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. A rail, a support running on the rail, arms carried by the support and extending one on each side of the rail, a bridge carried below the rail, by the arms and detachable therefrom, a body below the bridge and a suspender connecting the bridge and the body.

2. A rail, a door hanger running on the rail and surrounding the rail at top, bottom and sides and a centrally arranged suspender below the hanger detachable from the side por tions of the hanger and carried thereby.

3. A rail, a hanger running on the rail, a

body below the rail, a suspender carried by the hanger and having a threaded part extending through a supporting part of the body, means to hold the body from turning, a nut on the threaded part below the supporting part of the body and a washer interposed between the nut and the supporting part, and constructed to prevent rotation of the nut relative to the body when the supporting part is borne by the washer on the nut. 4. An edgewise movable closure; a rail; a roller running on said rail; supporting means carried by the roller and constructed with an intermediate vibration absorbing detachable portion.

5. Means for supporting a door comprising a rail; a roller on said rail; arms carried by said roller and extending downward therefrom and a bridge below the rail detachably interlocked with said arms.

6 The combination of a rail; a roller on said rail; arms carried by said roller and ex tending downward therefrom a bridge below the rail and detachably interlocked with said arms, a body and means by which the body is adjustably connected with said bridge.

7. A trough shaped metal rail, means for holding said rail tense, a door, a roller run ning on said rail, sheet metal connection between said roller and the door, and means for rendering said connection tense.

8. A trough shaped metal rail, and a support therefor wedged into the space between the walls of the trough to lessen the vibration.

9. In means for supporting an edgewise movable door, sheet metal arms, arranged side by side, and a wedging device to produce a lateral tension in said arms.

10. The combination with an edgewise movable closure of a roller, a rail for the roller and means connecting said closure with a roller, said means comprising a sound deadening device.

11. Means for supporting a door comprising a rail, a support for the rail, another support for the rail contacting therewith at two points and means for canting such latter support to cramp the rail between said points.

12. Means for supporting a door comprising a rail, a support for one end thereof, a vertically adjustable support for the other end of the rail contacting with the rail at two separate points, means for adjusting the latter support vertically, and means for canting the support.

13. A cantaliver support, a rail fixed thereto, and means for adjusting the support without disturbing its position relative to the rail.

14. An edgewise movable door, an antiresonant support therefor, and a vibration in tercepter between the door and such support.

15. An edgewise movable door and a support therefor comprising an angular shaped sheet-metal rail and a grooved wheel, constructed to contact with said rail at the opposite inside faces of the groove and free from contact between said faces.

16. An edgewise movable closure, a support therefor comprising a rail having diverging faces, and an externally-grooved wheel, the opposite inside faces of the groove of which contact with and run on said diverging faces, the intermediate face of the groove being free from contact with the rail.

17. The combination with a bent sheet metal rail of a support for one end of the rail, a support for the other end of the rail extending outside and inside the same and means for canting the latter support to cramp the rail between two parts of such support.

18. The combination with a rail, of a vertically adjustable support for one end of the rail, a vertically adjustable support for the other'end of the rail, said supports respectively contacting with the rail at two separate points, and means for canting said supports to cramp the rail.

In testimony whereof we have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribingwitnesses at Bridgeport, Connecticut, this 17th day of June 1904.

DANIEL SCHUYLER. HOMER LAUGHLIN, JR.

Witnesses:

JAMES R. TOWNSEND, ELIZABETH M. LEONARD.

IOR' 

